Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called on Latin American countries to actively participate in the Belt & Road Initiative and forge a trans-Pacific path of cooperation that links China and Latin America more closely.

Xi said that in a congratulatory message to the second ministerial meeting for the China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Forum, which opened Monday in the Chilean city of Santiago.

Xi said that he put forward the Belt and Road Initiative four years ago with the aim to build a new platform for international cooperation on connectivity, hoping to boost common development across the world.

The proposal has been warmly welcomed by the international community including many CELAC members, Xi said.

In the past, the ancestors of the Chinese people and the Latin American people have overcome great difficulties in crossing vast seas and jointly created the maritime Silk Road spanning the Pacific, said Xi, urging the two sides to work closely under the framework of the Belt and Road.

Furthermore, Xi also pointed out that since the first ministerial conference in January 2015, the China-CELAC Forum has become the main channel for cooperation between China and the entire CELAC region.

The world today is undergoing major changes and adjustments, and countries are increasingly interconnected and interdependent, while the mankind is faced with many challenges, Xi said.

Although China and CELAC members are geographically far apart, they are all developing nations and they share a common aspiration for peace, prosperity and people's happiness, Xi said.

The Chinese people are willing to join hands with people in the CELAC region and make even greater contribution to building a community with a shared future for mankind, he added.

The second ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum was attended by representatives from China and the member states of Latin America and other relevant international and regional organizations.